Lindsay James, Joe Mitchell argue tariffs, taxes during 2nd District debate

Democrat Lindsay James and Republican Joe Mitchell talked tariffs and tax policy during their second debate of the 2026 election season Thursday as they compete to represent Iowa’s 2nd District in the U.S. House.

The “Iowa Press” debate saw the two candidate face off for a second time on the debate stage as they compete to fill the seat left by U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is running as the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate. Their first debate was hosted Oct. 1 by Iowa’s News Now, where the candidates discussed issues including immigration, healthcare and data centers.

James, who represents Dubuque in the Iowa House, voted Oct. 2 in favor of a law providing nearly $1.4 billion in tax incentives for a $15 billion steel mill project planned in southeast Iowa. Lawmakers reconvened for a special session Friday to approve the measure after President Donald Trump’s announcement of the project by Mesabi Metallics.

Several Democrats — alongside some Republicans — voted against the measure, saying providing tax incentives for the company through changes to the Major Economic Growth Attraction (MEGA) program could cause the state budget problems in the future as it faces a $1.4 billion deficit, in part driven by recent income tax cuts.

James told “Iowa Press” moderators she voted for the measure because it will provide needed economic opportunities for Iowans.

“I’m hearing across the district that folks are making impossible choices because of the cost of living crisis that we are facing right now,” James said. “This crisis is because of policies directly related to what’s coming from Washington right now. The One Big, Beautiful Bill — which I would argue is only beautiful for billionaires — the war in Iran, and tariffs to name a few. These are driving up costs, and folks are really, really struggling. So when it comes to thinking about this district in particular, and this state, I’m all about lowering costs for hard-working families here in the state, but also making sure that they have economic opportunities. This is one of those economic opportunities for good-paying jobs.”

While James criticized measures like Republicans’ 2025 tax and spending law that made major tax cuts and cuts to programs like Medicaid as well as the president’s trade policies, Trump and Republicans have argued his administration’s tariff policies were the driving force for bringing the steel mill project to Iowa.

“Everyone’s building their plant here because they don’t want to pay tariffs,” Trump said. “It’s really not that complicated. A lot of people say they don’t understand it, but they do. They just don’t like to give us credit.”

James said she disagreed with this argument, saying tariffs are “driving jobs overseas.” She pointed to manufacturers like John Deere and Whirlpool, which have shifted some jobs from Iowa to Mexico in recent years.

“I stood with those workers on the picket line as they watched their jobs disappear to Mexico, all because of these impulsive and chaotic tariffs that are driving up costs and causing folks to make these impossible choices,” James said. “I would argue that these are the very policies that my opponent supports.”

Mitchell, who previously served in the Iowa Legislature, said he “absolutely” would have voted in favor of the tax incentive package if he was still a state lawmaker. He also argued it was “hypocritical” for James to say she supported the project while opposing Trump’s trade policies, which he said “directly impacted bringing that project to Iowa specifically.”

“This will be the largest economic development project in the state’s history, $15 billion invested right into eastern Iowa,” Mitchell said. “… And also, John Deere right now is adding jobs back in our district because of the president’s fair trade policies. And so, this is something I do champion, because we want to bring American jobs back to Americans. We went to reshore manufacturing jobs. We went to grow domestic manufacturing. And you can see right here, what a great example of the president bringing the steel mill right here to Iowa.”

Mitchell referenced a September announcement by John Deere, where the company stated it planned to bring “more than 375 employees back to work across its Quad Cities factory operations,” alongside bringing back or hiring more than 800 employees in Iowa and Illinois in 2026.

Mitchell and James also sparred during the debate as they countered one another’s claims about their campaign. James said, “my opponent has used my 16-year-old daughter in an attack ad against me” that was posted on social media, stating, “her face was blurred, but she was clearly identifiable.” Mitchell denied the claim and said James was lying, countering with, “you used a family photo of mine, too,” which James denied.

When Mitchell said his opponent “has not seen a tax hike she does not like,” James said his comment was “absolutely misleading.” Mitchell said his statement was made in reference to her votes against GOP-led measures cutting Iowa income tax rates and a 2026 property tax law as a state legislator. He also brought up her opposition to the OBBB Act, which he said included “no tax on Social Security, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime.”

“I support no tax on Social Security, I support no tax on tips,” James said. “You are being misleading and mischaracterizing. I’m against putting billions and trillions of dollars of tax relief to the ultra-wealthy and big corporations. That’s very clear.”

There are two other candidates in the race — independent Dave Bushaw and Libertarian Rick Stewart. Bushaw and Stewart did not meet the qualification requirements to make it on the Iowa’s News Now or “Iowa Press” debate stages.